Longing Lost
by the-rippers-daughter
Summary: Two years after the war things have began to settle down and people can start to finally live in peace. And now Aang can do the one thing he has been longing to do: look for his sister. Could she of survived all these years without Aang? Or will longing bring nothing but heartache?
1. Chapter 1:edited

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender in any way, shape or form. However I do own all original characters and the plot. Please do not steal what I own. Thank you!**

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"Are you sure you want to do this Aang? You know there`s a chance you won`t find anything," Katara spoke softly to her friend, doing her best to keep the tone of her voice calm and soothing.

"I know that, Katara. But I need to do this. I keep having these weird dreams where I see her. I even went into the Avatar state because of her!" Aang exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air to emphasize his point.

"You went into the Avatar state?" Sokka shrieked.

"How do you know it was her, twinkle toes?" Toph asked.

"I felt her presence. It felt like if I opened my eyes she would be standing right there in front of me. And I felt someone running their fingers over my temples and eyelids. She was the only one who ever did that to calm me down," Aang answered before looking at Sokka. "And I did it while I was asleep."

Katara and Zuko looked at their young airbending friend skeptically before glancing at each other and then back to him. It was no real secret that he wanted to search for his twin sister. When the war ended Aang thought he was finally free to look for her but with two years worth of peace making and negotiations to do he was unable to. But now with everything relatively peaceful again he was free to do so. Unfortunately with only a select few air temples left the young avatar`s friends couldn`t help but pray that this task didn`t end in disappointment.

"And your positive you don`t want us to go with you?" Toph asked with a raised eyebrow.

Aang nodded. "This is something I have to do myself."

His friends shot each other worried looks but still nodded their heads in agreement. They all felt they had to take trips on their own from time to time. And now it seemed to be Aang`s turn. But this time, with this kind of journey, all he could be headed for was great disappointment. And no one wanted that for their friend.

"What are you going to do with her if you find her?" Zuko finally asked. "Are you taking her here, the water tribe, the earth kingdom, or are you going to keep her at the air temple?"

Aang frowned and shrugged. "I never really thought of that."

"You should though. Zuko has a point," Katara pressed.

"If she`s still alive you shouldn`t bring her here. Last she heard and probably _saw _the Firenation is evil. Bringing her here would just upset her and bring back bad memories," Toph stated.

"Then maybe you should bring her here," Sokka murmured causing his friends to look at him strangely. "Think about it! She might not know anything about what happened. She might not know the war is over and the Firenation are good people. What better way to let her know all these things than to show her!"

"I agree with Sokka," Aang agreed with a furious nod. "She should see that everything is okay."

"If she`s still alive," Katara corrected gently.

Aang frowned but nodded slowly. "If she`s still alive. Which she is. I can feel it."

Toph sighed. "Alright. So, when are you leaving, Twinkletoes?"

"Well, I was thinking about leaving tomorrow," Aang admitted sheepishly.

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**I know that this is a bit short and ends on a cliffhanger but I had to start somewhere. I really hope you guys like what little of a chapter that this is. If you did by chance like it please review and let me know. I look forward to reading about what you think. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2:edited

**Disclaimer:I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender in any way, shape or form. However I do own all original characters and the plot. Please do not steal what I own. Thank you.**

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"I don`t know about this, Aang."

"You`ll be fine! Don`t worry," Aang encouraged with a grin. "They`ll love you."

Reila bit at her lip and nodded at his words. Despite how nervous she was she wanted to trust her brother. After all, Aang was the one who found her two months ago in the last air temple. She had been locked away in a chamber in the avatar state for years.

"We`re almost there."

"Alright," She whispered, not daring to look over Appa`s side. She had always been a tad scared of heights despite being an Airbender.

Aang glanced back at his sister and frowned. She looked tired and scared. He couldn`t really blame her though. He had spent the last two months telling her everything that happened while she was in that temple. She had been through nothing but a roller coaster of emotions and he knew how hard it must of been for her. Last she knew, the Fire Nation was trying to take over and the air temples were being attacked. Now everyone was as close to harmony as possible and Aang and herself were the only Airbenders left. That`s a lot to put on one person in just two months.

"Aang?" Reila called softly. "What if they don`t like me?"

"But they will!" He argued while letting go of Appa`s reigns and crawled his way over to her. "They`re my best friends."

"Just because they are your friends doesn`t mean they`ll be mine," She argued.

Aang frowned. "I promise they`ll like you, Reila. Sokka might be weary at first but he`s like that with everybody. It might take a while but they will like you. And you`ll like them. Don`t worry."

Reila took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright. I`m trusting you on this, Aang."

He grinned at her, "I won`t let you down."

Two hours later Appa landed in the courtyard of the Fire Nation palace. While Aang helped Reila off Appa, his friends raced out of the palace to greet them. Katara was the first to stop dead in her tracks. Sokka and Zuko quickly followed while Toph was last, only stopping when she noticed something was wrong with her friends.

"Guys, this is my sister Reila. Reila, these are my friends, Katara, Zuko, Sokka, and Toph," Aang introduced, making sure to point everyone out to his sister.

"It`s nice to meet you all," Reila said softly.

"You finally find her, Twinkletoes?" Toph asked.

"Twinkletoes?" Reila questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Aang smiled sheepishly, "Just a nickname."

"Aang? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Katara asked.

"Oh, sure!"

While Toph explained the nickname to Reila, Zuko and Sokka walked over to Aang and Katara.

"How is that your sister?" Sokka hissed.

Aang tilted his head, "What do you mean?"

"Shouldn`t she of oh I don`t know...not aged?" Sokka inquired.

"She was frozen like you, right?" Katara explained when the airbender only looked more confused.

"Not exactly," Aang murmured. "She was locked away in the avatar state."

"But that should of kept her from ageing," Sokka argued.

"She went into it after I did," Aang tried to explained.

"She looks like she`s our age," Katara mumbled while eyeing the girl.

"She kind of is," Aang said. "She was locked away at nineteen."

"How did she survive the war?" Zuko piped up.

"She ran a lot. After a while the Fire nation thought they killed all the Airbenders so she stopped running and locked herself away," Aang replied.

"Then why lock herself away if she wasn`t in any danger?" Katara questioned.

"I don`t know," Aang admitted with a shrug.

"And you trust her?" Sokka asked in disbelief.

"She`s my sister! You trust Katara no matter what," Aang exclaimed.

"Aang?" Reila asked, walking over to the group with Toph. "Is everything okay?"

"Forgive us if we`re a bit skeptical," Katara admitted. "We all thought you`d be long gone."

Reila nodded slowly, "I understand. You only want to protect Aang. But I don`t think you can deny we`re related."

"That`s for sure," Sokka muttered.

Same black hair, light brown eyes, orange clothes and sky blue markings. If you took away the hair, figure, height, femmine features and boobs she would be an exact replica of Aang. There was no way they could deny their relation. They were twins after all. One just looked a little older than the other.

"Alright. Maybe this isn`t the place to do all this," Zuko spoke up. "Let`s go inside." He began walking back to the palace but paused halfway to glance back at Reila. "And welcome to the Firenation."

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**I really don`t have any excuses for not updating in a while. I want to try and update regularly though. I`ll try. I can`t promise anything but I`ll try. I wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone for the follows, reviews and favorites. It means a lot. Please keep it up. Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender in any way, shape or form. However I do own all original characters and the plot. Please do not steal what I own. Thank you.**

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Zuko slowly lead the gang and the newly found Reila through his palace, pointing out things that might interest the new airbender along the way. After a few stops, they finally made it to Zuko`s private office.

The once brat prince wasn`t particularly happy with the idea at first. Every Fire Lord before him had used that office. And for the first few days, all he could think of was his father using that very same one. It had taken him a long time to get used to the room. With the help of uncle Iroh, of course. Now he saw it as a sanctuary of sorts.

"This is my private office," Zuko told Reila. "No one will hear a word. I made sure of that. You can speak as freely as you like."

Reila nodded slowly and glanced around the room. It was rather large and magnificent. All done up in red and gold, of course. It was a fire nation staple. While his assurances were nice, she wasn`t sure if she could trust him. Aang`s friend or not.

They all gathered around Zuko`s large paper covered desk. It seemed to be the gathering place for more than a few important discussions over the past two years.

"Before we begin," Reila spoke up, "I would like to ask you something."

"Ask away," Zuko murmured, mentally preparing himself to be bombarded with questions he probably wouldn`t want to answer.

"What is your official title now? Aang said you were a prince before but never spoke of what you are now."

"I am now Fire Lord Zuko."

Reila nodded slowly, half expecting that answer. It had been two years since the war ended. It was only practical that he ascended the throne at some point.

"Anything else?" Zuko asked.

"No", the female airbender murmured. "You all may proceed with whatever questions you have for me."

"Why didn`t you come looking for Aang?" Katara almost growled.

"Excuse me?"

"After the fire nation stopped looking for airbenders, Aang said you locked yourself away. Why didn`t you come looking for your brother if you were no longer in danger?"

Reila pursed her lips together in thought for a moment before releasing a sigh. "I thought he was gone. I never heard anything that said otherwise."

"But you`re the avatar right? Like Aang?" Sokka asked.

"I am," she confirmed.

"Then why not save everyone? Why not fulfill destiny and stop the war?" he asked.

"It`s not that simple. Yes I am an avatar and yes I am Aang`s twin. But saving the world was not my destiny. It was not my place. That belonged to my brother," Reila tried to explain.

"But it is that simple," Katara argued. "You could of saved the world so much misery and grief. You could of prevented so much death. But instead you locked yourself away!"

"Katara," Aang piped up, getting between his sister and his girlfriend. "Reila had her reasons. Just like I had mine for running."

"But she didn`t even try," the waterbender hissed.

"Neither did I," Aaang argued gently. He didn`t want to upset her more than she apparently was.

"Why did you lock yourself away?" Toph spoke up.

Reila directed her attention to the earthbender. "I thought if I locked myself away and went into the avatar state then I could look into the spirit world and find my brother."

"You really thought Aang was dead?" Sokka questioned in slight disbelief.

The airbender nodded. "Yes. I had no reason to believe otherwise."

Zuko frowned. "Aren`t twins supposed to share some weird bond? Isn`t that how Aang knew you were alive?"

"Normally, yes. Twins do share bonds. But when the avatar state is involved, things become tricky. You can`t feel things like you normally do when you`re there. And my brother knew I was alive because I tried reaching out to him through that state. It was sort of my last shot."

"And it worked," Aang said with a grin.

Reila nodded, "It did."

"How long were you looking for him?" Zuko asked.

"The whole time I was locked away," she answered.

"You mentioned the spirit world," Sokka said, "How long were you there?"

"I`m sorry but that`s not something I would like to speak of right now."

"How long were you there?" Katara pressed. She understood that being there too long does things to people. Messed with their heads.

Reila shut her eyes tightly and took a deep shaky breath. She should of known the question would come up. "I do not wish to speak of it right now."

"Katara, please," Aang pleaded. "Just give her a break." He knew his girlfriend would continue to push his sister until she got an answer. She was far too stubborn to give up.

"Fine," the waterbender grumbled. "But we`re finishing this conversation later."

Zuko silent observed the female airbender. She was definitely distressed about something. One look at Toph `s face told him that she thought the same thing. She could read people like no other. And she knew something was wrong with Reila just as much as he did. The spirit world was a touchy subject for her. There was no doubt about that.

And there was no doubt in anyone`s mind that Katara would keep pushing the female airbender until she broke down with an explanation. There was also no doubt that she didn`t trust Aang`s sister. Zuko wasn`t quite sure if it was deserved or not but he was going to find out one way or another. Because no one messed with those he considered family. Not any more.

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**Finally a new update! I really have no excuse for not updating in a year. I got a horrible case of writers block and instead of waiting a week or two before trying to write again, I kinda forgot this story existed. Which I`m really sorry for. But I do have good news. I have the next chapter almost done so it should be posted next week. And I have quite a few ideas for this story so I`m going to do my best to update regularly and eventually complete this story. Also, I went back and did a little editing to the first two chapters. Nothing major, just fixing a few mistakes I missed and correcting a couple things. Again, I`m really sorry this took so long. It was never my intention to forget about this story. Writers block is horrible and unfortunately unavoidable. There is one last thing I would like to clear up. There is a reason I made Katara so angry towards Reila. I didn`t make her a bitch just to make her a bitch. There is a reason for Katara`s dislike. I promise. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender in any way, shape or form. However I do own all original characters and the plot. Please do not steal what I own. Thank you.**

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While Sokka escorted Katara out of the office to go calm down, the rest of the gang stayed behind to answer any questions Reila had. There weren`t many, surprisingly. Aang had apparently told her pretty much everything. There were a few details here and there left unsaid. But he had done a fairly good job otherwise.

After that the tour of the palace recommenced. Zuko had only shown Reila enough of it to get to his office. The rest was yet to be explored with her. The palace was rather large. Toph left the tour fairly quickly, not being able to truly see anything, leaving Zuko, Aang and Reila to look together.

The young Fire Lord took notice of the female airbender`s excitement over the large library and then the gardens. He actually thought she`d start jumping up and down at the latter. He was actually very proud of the gardens. After what happened with his mother, some things in the palace fell to the way side and weren`t bothered with. Then with Azula`s impending rule, even more so. The gardens had been in horrible conditions when Zuko took over. Thankfully uncle Iroh, himself and even Katara were able to restore it to its once former glory.

Speaking of uncle Iroh.

"Uncle!" Zuko called out as soon as he saw said man walking through the gardens. "Uncle! There`s someone I want you to meet!"

Iroh slowly walked over to the young benders, a content smile on his face. "What is it nephew?"

"I want you to meet Aang`s sister, Reila," the young Fire Lord spoke before starting introductions. "Uncle Iroh, this is Reila. Reila, this is my uncle Iroh."

"It`s nice to meet you," Reila said.

Iroh nodded. "It`s nice to finally meet the sister Aang has always talked about."

"You talked about me?" She asked, turning to her brother.

Aang shrugged sheepishly, "A little."

"All wonderful things," Iroh assured with a teasing smile.

Reila found herself slowly smiling back. Iroh seemed like a sweet old man. It was hard for her not to remind herself who he is. Or rather, who he was. In truth, it was hard for her to grasp just how vastly the Fire Nation had changed since she went into hiding. When your last memories of someone are horrible, only to find out how dramatically they`ve suddenly changed, it`s understandable to not be trust worthy at first. Or at all.

Aang trusted them, Reila kept assuring herself. If her brother could trust them, then certainly she could too, right? But was it really safe? Could someone she`d seen as the enemy for so long really be trusted? At least she knew, above all else, she could trust her brother. Aang had never given Reila a reason not to trust him. But did that mean, by extension, she was trusting the Fire Nation as well? She wasn`t so sure.

"Has my nephew shown you to your room yet?" Iroh asked, interrupting the young airbenders thoughts.

"No, not yet," Reila answered.

"Well then, how about I show you?"

With reassuring nods from both Aang and Zuko, she said, "Yes."

Iroh smiled and hooked their arms together, gently patting her arm for more reassurance when he noticed her hesitant smile.

"Are you going to bombard me with questions too?" Reila asked in a whisper when they were out of hearing distance of her brother.

He chuckled and once again patted her hand. "Oh, no. I imagine you have been through enough today. Perhaps another time over tea?"

Reila slowly began to smile. "I think I`d like that." Perhaps she could trust this sweet old man after all. Even if he is Fire Nation.

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**This was supposed to be up yesterday but I was having troubles uploading it. Thankfully everything seems to be working today. I had planned on making this chapter much longer but nothing was really coming out how I wanted it so I just settled for a short chapter this time. I am going to do my best to make the next chapter longer, though. Hopefully it comes out right. And I know I didn`t do the best job capturing the awesomeness that is Uncle Iroh, but I`ll definitely try to get it right in his other appearances. Anyways, I want to say thank you to everyone that has been reading and reviewing this story. Please keep it up, I would love to know what you all think. Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender in any way, shape or form. However I do own all original characters and the plot. Please do not steal what I own. Thank you.**

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During her first week at the Fire Nation palace, Reila spent almost every waking moment with Aang, trying to make up for lost time. Though they spent an almost solid two months together at the Air temple after her awakening, it didn`t seem like enough. They had spent so much time apart that they never seemed to be able to make up for all the time they lost. And they probably never would.

Reila wouldn`t dare speak it out loud, but part of her resented the Fire Nation for taking her brother away from her and then causing him so much anguish. For slaughtering so many of her people. And for sending her into the spirit world for far too long. While she knew and understood that Aang running away and spending all those years in the ice was his fault, she also knew that it was because of the Fire Nation that he ran in the first place. If it wasn`t for them, her brother wouldn`t of had to become the Avatar so soon and he wouldn`t of become so scared that he ran away.

And because of these thoughts, Reila spent much of her time in the palace on edge. Never truly relaxing, even around Aang. Sure, they all tried to make her feel better. But it never worked. And while she did catch herself enjoying Zuko and Iroh`s company, she never fully relaxed around them. She was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. For them to attack her. For them to act as they truly were: Fire Nation. Because that`s what they were.

The Fire Nation did nothing but destroy. Just like their bending. They destroyed everything in their path, no matter what or who it was, until nothing was left. Death followed them like the plague and Reila wanted nothing to do with them. But still, there was always a nagging voice in the back of her mind to remind her that Aang trusted them. And he trusted Zuko and Iroh most of all.

So Reila spent her first week in the palace almost always by Aang`s side. Even in the company of Fire Nation royalty, she did not want to leave him. Her brother trusted them with his life but that did not mean she had to.

The first week she was on edge, the second she was cautious, the third unsure, and by the forth week she was beginning to feel conflicted. They were all being nothing but nice to her. Even when she became borderline hostile. Sure, at one point it was clear she had made Zuko rather angry but he was fairly quick to control himself. It was so strange.

Currently Reila was sitting in the garden with Iroh. Having tea. Something he seemed to be extremely knowledgeable about. And he wasn`t all that quiet about it either. He could spend a whole hour talking about one brand of it. Reila knew because this had happened more than once. And while it did get rather boring, she never protested it. Never once interrupted or acted anything other than interested. It was nice not to have the attention on her for a change. And Iroh had yet to ask any questions about her time running from the Fire Nation or about her time in the spirit world. Unlike everyone else. Especially Katara. Spirits, that seemed to be the only thing on the woman`s mind.

Katara was constantly trying to question Reila about her time in the spirit world and her reasons for not becoming the Avatar. It got to the point she had begun to avoid and even hide from the younger Water bender. It was both annoying and embarrassing. After her brother found her, she never thought she would have to hide again. Much less from a Water bender. Weren`t they supposed to be the good ones?

"You might want to leave," Iroh suddenly advised, not bothering to look up from his tea.

Reila raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"Katara is coming this way," he answered. "Weren`t you hiding from her?"

She squeaked and shot up, quickly handing him her half full cup of tea before pausing to shoot him a look. "Wait, how did you know?"

He grinned up at her. "I always know."

"You are terribly vauge," she huffed.

"I know. Now go before she see`s you."

She nodded and quickly bolted from their spot in the garden and down the palace halls, catching a glimpse of Katara walking up to Iroh while on her way inside. Unfortunately in her haste to escape the water bender, she almost ran right into Fire Lord Zuko. Literally. If it wasn`t for his reflexus they would of collided.

"What`s going on?" Zuko questioned, his temper already leaking into his voice.

"Sorry," Reila squeaked. "It`s Katara. I gotta run." As soon as the words left her mouth she was already running again. She quickly shot another, "sorry!" over her shoulder before really focusing on running away. And she didn`t stop running until she was safely tucked away in the library. Which may or may not of been on the other side of the palace.

Reila knew she was being cowardly by hiding every time Katara was in the same vicinity but dammit that woman would not give up. She had to be the most stubborn person Reila had ever met. And she`d met quite a few people over the years. When she wasn`t inquiring about the spirit world she was going on and on about her not becoming the Avatar in Aang`s place. She was getting tired of the Water bender`s questions. Real tired. But ignoring her was the best option. At least for now. The Air bender had to continuously remind herself not only of the monk`s teachings but also that fights never solved anything. They tended to make things worse. And that was the last thing Reila wanted.

The Air bender didn`t leave the library until Aang came and found her hours later to let her know dinner was ready. By then it was already sunset and Reila had been in there since noon. Well, at least the monk`s taught her how to fast for long periods of time.

Dinner was a rather awkward affair. Katara and Reila kept glaring at each other the whole time. All the while everyone else tried to hold a conversation around them. Iroh and Aang tried to get them to talk but to no avail. No matter what they were asked, they never responded. Not even when Sokka tried. And he said some of the most random things he could think of to get their attention. At one point Zuko suggested just locking them in a room until they worked it out but Aang quickly protested the idea. No good would come of that.

Just as the awkward tension was beginning to become unbearable, a chair scraping across the floor broke through. And it wasn`t just any chair. It was Katara`s chair. She stood up slowly, all the while glaring at Reila.

"Meet me out in the garden. Now."

Reila sighed and stood up as well. "I don`t want to fight you, Katara."

"Well if it comes to that, then it comes to that," Katara growled. "But we are going to have a talk in the gardens."

Another sighed escaped Reila. So much for not fighting. She motioned to the dining room entrance. "Lead the way."

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**This is no where near as long as I planned for it to be. For some reason it`s just how it came out. And this took way too long to write and post. Again. At this point Iv`e pretty much given up trying to keep a set schedule for this story because its just not going to happen. No matter how hard I try. I want to get the next chapter up by the end of the month or at some point in February since Iv`e already started writing it but I`m not going to promise anything. Like I said, I can`t seem to keep a set schedule. I do want to thank everyone for reading, following, and reviewing this story despite how slow it`s been going. It really means a lot to me and I hope I don`t disappoint any of you. Thank you so much!**


	6. Notice

Hello, everyone. I`m really sorry this isn`t an update. Unfortunately I`ve got some bad news. I`m going to put this story on a small hiatus. No matter how hard I try and write, I just can`t seem to get anything out. The last time I updated this, January sixteenth, I immediately started working on the next chapter. I wrote one paragraph and haven`t been able to get anything out since. I have so many idea`s for this story but nothing seems to want to fit together. And that`s why I`m putting this on a small hiatus. This story is in no way over. I plan on picking this back up and finishing it as soon as I can work through my writers block. After I work through it I plan on writing the rest of this story and then posting it. Something I should of done in the first place. I want to give you all the best story I can. Not something half assed. Again, I`m really sorry. Hopefully I can pick this back up again very soon. I will try and post other things for Avatar in the mean time so that I`m not completely gone. So please keep an eye out for that as well as on this. Thank you all so much for understand. This story will **not** be abandoned. It`s just going to take a little while to get it back up and running.


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